To

Lee Bennett Hopkins

Hopkins, Lee Bennett. 1995. Been to yesterdays. Honesdale, Pennsylvania: Wordsong. ISBN: 1-56397-808-3.

Introduction

Been To Yesterdays is a collection of autobiographical poems. "To" describes how Lee Bennett Hopkins turns his life experiences into poems.

To

make

this world

a whole lot

brighter

when

I

grow up

I'll

be

a writer.

I'll

write about

some things

I know--

how to bunt

Yes.

To

make

this world

a whole lot

brighter,

when

I grow up

I'll

be

a

writer.

Extension

How does writing and/or reading "brighten" up the world? What influence do books (poems, stories, etc.) have on your life? Are there writers whose works make your life better?

Module 2 Poems:

• Judith Viorst's "Someday Someone Will Bet That You Can't�"
• Douglas Florian's "I Taught My Cat
• Jack Prelutsky's "Miss Misinformation"
• Lee Bennett Hopkin's "To"
• Shel Silverstein's " Recipe for a Hippopotamus Sandwich"